5/14/13 Update: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 12am on Tuesday June 4th.
3/26/13 Update: Disney canceled evening Extra Magic Hours on Fridays over the summer. That has caused some of the recommendations on Fridays/Saturdays to change.
3/1/13 Update: Crowd calendar and daily analysis updated with the changes listed here.
This is the Free June 2013 Disney World Crowd Calendar that shows the Recommended Parks to Visit, Overall Crowd Level Estimation, Cost, Historic High/Low Temperature, Historic Chance of Precipitation, Extra Magic Hours Schedule, Fantasmic Show Times, Holidays, and Special Events.
Make sure you first read my month-by-month overview of visiting Disney World, located here. The overview will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of cost, crowds, weather, and special events on a broader scale. Once you figure out when you would like to visit, you can move on to this more detailed look.
Here’s a quick explanation of how to read the calendar and what the numbers mean. It may seem like it’s a little long, but you’ll only need to read the explanation once.
- The first line in each box is the date.
- The second line shows the cost to book a room at a Disney-owned resort. $ = Value Season, $$ = Regular Season, $$$ = Summer Season, $$$$ = Peak Season, and $$$$$ = Holiday Season. Occasionally there will be a + or – after the $$$ to show that the cost is slightly higher or lower than usual, but not by enough to raise it another $ notch.
- The third line is the average high and low temperature and the chance of precipitation. All data is based on the last 15 years. I wouldn’t read too much into the precipitation percentages for each day because just one or two additional days of rain in the last 15 years can raise the percentage substantially. I included it so you can look at the precipitation trends throughout the month(s) and take it into consideration when deciding when to book your vacation. For a broader overview of the month, read the month-by-month overview I linked to above.
- The fourth line is an estimation of the overall crowd level. A “5″ refers to average crowds. Numbers above 5 refer to a larger than average overall crowd level and numbers below 5 refer to lower than average overall crowds. A day with an overall crowd level of “1″ means that the crowds are expected to be the absolute lowest of the year and a “10″ means crowds are expected to be at their largest of the year. In other words, the overall crowd level estimation will give you an idea of how many people are in the entire Disney World complex, including the four major theme parks, water parks, Downtown Disney, golf courses, resorts, etc. Individual theme parks can have smaller or larger crowds than the overall estimation, which is where the theme park recommendations come in.
- The fifth line shows the theme parks I recommend visiting in green and the theme parks I recommend avoiding in red. There is also a | sign that splits up the recommended and not recommended Parks for the color blind or those printing in black and white (the Parks to the left of the | sign are recommended). I use the usual abbreviations for the Parks; AK is the Animal Kingdom, EP is Epcot, HS is Hollywood Studios, and MK is the Magic Kingdom. In addition to the colors, the Park on the far left is the most recommended Park to visit that day. The Park second to the left is the second most recommended and so on. For example, if the line reads AK EP | HS MK then the Animal Kingdom is the most recommended and Epcot is the second most recommended. On the other side of the | sign, Hollywood Studios is not recommended and the Magic Kingdom is expressly not recommended even more. If possible, I would strongly recommend you visit the Park that is most recommended each day. Please read below the calendar for an overview of how I’ve selected the recommended Parks and also a day-by-day explanation.
- The sixth line lists which Parks have Extra Magic Hours and at what time they start. Morning Extra Magic Hour lasts one hour and usually starts at 8am. Evening Extra Magic Hours last three hours from the start time. For example, if you see AK:8am EP:9pm, that means the Animal Kingdom has a morning Extra Magic Hour from 8am-9am and Epcot has evening Extra Magic Hours from 9pm-12am.
- The seventh line lists the Fantasmic show times at the Hollywood Studios.
- The eighth line lists the start time of Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP:) and Wishes Fireworks at Magic Kingdom(W:). For example, if you see, MSEP: 9pm & 11pm W: 10pm, it would mean that Main Street Electrical Parade begins at 9pm and 11pm and Wishes begins at 10pm.
The Calendar is also available in an easy to view and print PDF file, Here.
Click the image to enlarge it.
Saturday June 1
Animal Kingdom: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)
Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm
Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)
Illuminations: 9pm
Hollywood Studios: 8am – 10pm (Not Recommended)
Star Wars Weekends
Fantasmic: 9pm and 10:30pm
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 11pm (Recommended)
Gay Days at Magic Kingdom
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm
Animal Kingdom is going to be busier than recommended days due to the morning Extra Magic Hour that will be popular with Disney resort guests. A lot of Disney resort guests see the Extra Magic Hours schedule as Disney’s means of telling them where they “belong” each day. While very few Disney resort guests will actually arrive by 7:30am to take advantage of their perk, they will undoubtedly stream in throughout the morning, ultimately making the Park much busier from 11am through close. You’ll want to avoid it unless you’re absolutely certain that you’ll arrive by 7:40am and plan to leave around 1pm. The 8am – 9:30am timeframe will be incredibly quiet with short waits everywhere. Alternatively, you could arrive later and stay through 7pm. Crows will significantly dissipate after 6pm as more and more people finish their itineraries and head elsewhere. Stay through 7pm and visit Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest at the end of the day to find the shortest waits. Check your Times Guide to see if the last Safari will leave before 7pm. It’s possible with the late close.
Epcot is our best Park to visit. Yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hours will have been popular with Disney resort guests and they will be nowhere near Epcot today, especially in the morning. Take full advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and head straight to Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, Mission: Space, and Soarin’. To stay ahead of the crowds for as long as possible, move up through the World Showcase beginning at 11am with the water rides in Norway and Mexico. Return to Future World after 5pm to ride anything you skipped earlier in the day and to re-ride Soarin’ and Test Track with FASTPASSes collected in the morning. If you arrive later, plan to collect FASTPASSes for Soarin’ and then Test Track as soon as possible. Mission Space and Maelstrom are much easier to FASTPASS in the afternoon if necessary. It’s also an excellent day to stay for IllumiNations and enjoy the World Showcase in the afternoon.
Hollywood Studios is not recommended. It’s going to be extremely crowded for the third Saturday of Star Wars Weekends. Both yesterday and tomorrow would be less crowded and any weekday would be significantly less crowded, including Monday with evening Extra Magic Hours attached. I don’t recommend visiting the Studios today unless you’re intent on “taking advantage” of the Star Wars Weekend festivities. If you do go, plan to arrive by 7am at the latest and immediately head for one of the more popular character meet and greets or Toy Story Mania. You could have success by arriving no later than 7am, but it’s going to be a zoo from 10am through close.
The Magic Kingdom is also recommended, despite the fact that it’s scheduled for Gay Days and it’s a Saturday. Most months, Saturdays are the most popular day of the week because it almost always has a Main Street Electrical Parade and the hours are usually significantly longer than other days during the week. In June, because the crowds are above average most every day, we have two Main Street Electrical Parades and Wishes scheduled every night, along with 9am-11pm hours of operation every day. With Disney canceling Friday’s evening Extra Magic Hours, we can expect more resort guests to be headed in its direction today, but we still have evening Extra Magic Hours tomorrow. The Gay Days crowds also aren’t as big of a deal on Saturday and Sunday for a number of reasons. First, Gay Days participants arrive later in the day and many will leave before the evening Parade and Fireworks. By arriving early, we can easily stay in front of them. Second, a lot of families who didn’t know about Gay Days previously will have picked up on it by today and they will have found out that Gay Days is at the Magic Kingdom today. Some of these people will decide not to visit the Magic Kingdom. A decent amount of people will also be aware of the Gay Days crowds before leaving for Disney World and will also avoid the Magic Kingdom. I’m more concerned about the Gay Days crowds at the Animal Kingdom because of its shorter hours/limited number of attractions and at Hollywood Studios yesterday because we’ll already have larger crowds for Star Wars Weekends. At Magic Kingdom today and Epcot tomorrow, they won’t make much of a dent, especially if you arrive early and visit the headlining attractions immediately after the Magic Kingdom opens.
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